Simmered into creamy orbs and steeped with cinnamon bark and spicy chili powder, chickpeas nest in full robust flavor. Bursting with homey, heady aromas of cinnamon, ginger, coriander and clove, if you haven't yet tried chole, you're missing out on one of India's tastiest staples. As versatile as it is delicious, it can also be one component in a more complex dish.

In India, chole is mostly a street food, sold by food wallas out from giant metal urns, stewed overnight and brought out for lunch. In Colorado, chole is made in the kitchen at Krishna Kafe, located more conveniently in Lafayette.

Krishna Kafe not only offers up tantalizing chole but a wide variety of other South Indian chaat options (savory Indian street food snacks). Chaat is similar to tapas, dim sum or mezze, only with a decidedly Indian spin. You will findmany new and exotic dishes on Krishna Cafe's extensive menu, including gluten, dairy-free or vegan options upon request.

A generous bowl full of aloo tikki chaat features Krishna's chole puri. For a mere $5.99, two croquettes of creamy mashed potatoes come fried and smothered with chole. This colorful dish is then topped with tomatoes, onions, green chilis, cilantro and sev (yellow fried vermicelli noodles made of gram flour). One of the most popular dishes at Krishna Cafe, aloo tikki chaat offers a symphonic textural experience. First, the thickened liquid of the chole whets the lips and tongue preparing the mouth with subtle spiciness. Then teeth gently bite through crispy fried golden coating. The gentle snap of diced red onion joined by a pop of fresh cilantro moves you toward the crescendo of smooth, silken, superbly seasoned potato filling. The movement ends with the crunch of the brittle fried sev noodles.

If you're not completely full by the time you've finished your aloo tikki chaat, consider trying the chole-free ragada pattise. Ragada is a yellow pea soup. Pattise is the Indian name for the aforementioned potato croquettes. Cooked with tumeric, this thick pea soup served with two large potato patties inside has a hearty, terrestrial flavor to it. Where the aloo tikki chaat was spicy and vibrant, the ragada pattise was comforting and grounding.

While I wouldn't want to discourage you from eating fresh aloo tikki chaat and ragada pattise, the leftovers of both dishes tasted even better the next day. You can do the taste test for yourself -- because of the large portion size, it's likely you'll leave with a doggie bag, allowing the multitude of Indian spices more time to work their magic.

I'd never tried khaman dhokla before, but steamed sour cakes made of fermented chickpea batter intrigued me. Similar in texture, though not as sweet as a yellow sponge cake, this Gujarati-style street cake is fermented and steamed. Served with a vibrantly green coconut chutney, julienned green chilis, dried curry leaves, and sev, for $3.99 a plateful the dhokla is worth a try. Though you might find it an acquired taste, if you never try, you'll never know.

Krishna Kafe offers both sweet- and salty-style lassi. Choosing sweet, my yogurt-and-mango-pulp lassi dripped with all the succulence of a fresh juicy mango but tipped a tad too much toward sweet on the sweet-vs.-sour scale. A squeeze of lemon or lime would have brought this beverage into complete harmony.

Forgoing pav, Indian bread, we instead elected to try the mixed vegetable uttapam. A dense pan-fried pancake is made with rice and lentil flour. Spinach, red onion, tomato and green bell pepper are mixed in the batter. The result, a belly busting-leaden cake that requires a dip in accompanying green coconut chutney to enhance its appeal. Fairly bland in flavor, this skillet cake, though dissimilar in texture, shares a similar flavor profile as one of those bland rice cakes you eat when you're on a diet.

Formulating a plan on how to make this meal last, I ordered an additional bowlful of the chole puri to go. Once again proving its versatility, chole served as the centerpiece for a delicious and satisfying lunch for two the following day -- a plate of basmati rice, a side of leftover ragada pattise, some whole wheat pav and a heaping helping of chole heated up in a stainless steel pot on my home own kitchen stove.

Though not a fancy restaurant by any means, Krishna Kafe is clean and efficient. Choose to dine in at the sparsely furnished yet vividly colored cafe, or order some value-priced takeout. Whether you try some chole, choose your chaat or sip some lassi, Krishna Cafe will please your purse and your tastebuds with the layered and complex flavors of South and Central India.

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